4.5 ⭐️

Other reviews that I read compared this to the Hunger Games and while that’s accurate to a certain extent, there is so much to this book that makes it stand out on its own merit.

Climate change and nuclear war has decimated the country and animals are mutating to survive, which has made food scarce. Most of the population- primarily in the suburbs/country- wrack up debt to get their most basic needs met. This debt can get so crippling that people make the decision to “nominate” a family member to be hunted on live television to help pay it off.

Inesa is nominated by her mother, and the “Angel” Melinoë is sent to hunt her down. When Mel is injured, they end up needing to rely on each other to survive and enter an uneasy truce that develops into more.

It’s a very timely story, considering everything going on in the world. We’re seeing the effects of climate change, the wealth gap, and the attacks on the queer community. But there are themes of hope, love and acceptance, which makes this story so beautiful.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Harper Collins for the advance copy of this book.

Ava Reid did it again. I will be haunted by this novel's commentary until the day that I die.

Synopsis:
New Amsterdam is controlled by Caerus, credits, & debts. Every two months, Caerus hosts a Gauntlet campaign featuring one Angel & one Lamb. Angels are government-crafted assassins programmed to hunt & kill. Lambs are the sacrificial offering of those so far in debt that the only way to pay is with a life, but no one ever offers themselves for their own debts. In thirteen days, either the Angel will have hunted the Lamb or, more uncommonly, the Lamb will manage to escape death. For this Gauntlet, Inesa is the Lamb & Melinoë is the Angel, but who will survive?

Spoiler-free Review:
This book opens with a quote by Leonard Cohen: "There's a lover in the story, but the story's still the same." This book is so incredibly multifaceted that this epigraph resonates so thoroughly with the ideas portrayed throughout the story. This is a story about love; not only romantic or platonic love, but the unconditional love for one's neighbor. Love for humanity. Love that transcends the casual cruelness of the world.

This is a YA dystopian novel that requires the reader to take the time for introspective contemplation; to think about their relationship with power, money, generosity, & humanity. This is a story of kindness & gentleness in a crushingly ruthless world that has uncanny parallels to our modern society. Mixed with the 2010's dystopian-era atmosphere, Reid perfectly blends nostalgia with something new, creating a powerful, unforgettable story of caution, love, survival, & the human condition.

Just like in her other novels, Reid holds up a mirror to her readers & makes us reflect on ourselves & society. This novel begs the question of what conditions we place on our love for each other that should come unconditionally.

This book has been compared endlessly to The Hunger Games, but I believe this book stands firmly on its own while paying homage to the genre that shaped many of our youths. Fable echoed those books with perfect nostalgia.

It is hard to discuss Fable without spoiling it, even minorly, so this is where I am going to leave it: this is a story that everyone needs to experience for themselves. From the writing style to the atmosphere that is created in this suffocating, freedomless dystopia to the character arcs that allow the reader to see the world through different lenses, Fable for the End of the World is a thoroughly heartbreaking & poignant story.

Thank you to Harper Collins Publishing via NetGalley for the eARC of Fable for the End of the World in exchange for an honest review; all thoughts are my own.

Review: Do you ever come across a book that makes you think “wow, if I’d had this book in high school, it would have changed my life.” This is that kind of book for me. It high school Amy, trying to figure out her bi-sexuality Amy, obsessed with The Hunger Games Amy had this book, she probably would’ve used the word “bisexual” out loud a lot sooner than my early/mid 20s. I loved this book. I devoured this book (230 pages in one sitting, helloooo). This book devoured my right back. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me think “my god, this could happen. this could happen and it would go just like this.” Do yourself a favor and grab this book asap. I can already see a reread in my future✨

Synopsis: By encouraging massive accumulations of debt from its underclass, a single corporation, Caerus, controls all aspects of society.

Inesa lives with her brother in a half-sunken town where they scrape by running a taxidermy shop. Unbeknownst to Inesa, their cruel and indolent mother has accrued an enormous debt—enough to qualify one of her children for Caerus’s livestreamed assassination spectacle: the Lamb’s Gauntlet.

Melinoë is a Caerus assassin, trained to track and kill the sacrificial Lambs. The product of neural reconditioning and physiological alteration, she is a living weapon, known for her cold brutality and deadly beauty. She has never failed to assassinate one of her marks.

When Inesa learns that her mother has offered her as a sacrifice, at first she despairs—the Gauntlet is always a bloodbath for the impoverished debtors. But she’s had years of practice surviving in the apocalyptic wastes, and with the help of her hunter brother, she might stand a chance of staying alive.

For Melinoë, this is a game she can’t afford to lose. Despite her reputation for mercilessness, she is haunted by painful flashbacks. After her last Gauntlet, where she broke down on livestream, she desperately needs redemption.

As Mel pursues Inesa across the wasteland, both girls begin to question everything: Inesa wonders if there’s more to life than survival, while Mel wonders if she’s capable of more than killing.

And both wonder if, against all odds, they might be falling in love.

Fable for the End of the World is like a dystopian fever dream in the best way possible. Think sapphic Hunger Games with a crumbling world drenched in corporate greed, a deadly survival game, and two incredible FMCs caught in the chaos.

Inesa, the lamb, comes from an incredibly poor area where she and her brother have managed to survive without debt. In a world where owing money is the social norm... however, their USELESS mother keeps racking up debts and decides to throw Inesa into the Gauntlet to pay them off. Never mind that she could have offered up herself instead (did I mention that I hate their mother?). The Gauntlet is a brutal fight-to-the-death spectacle livestreamed to the masses. Whoever sponsors a lamb gets $50k in debt wiped from their ledger.

Melinoë, the angel, is a surgically enhanced assassin trained to eliminate lambs with almost no chance of failure. The system is designed to be unfair, ensuring the lambs never survive. But Melinoë has been struggling with the weight of a previous kill, her emotions threatening to crack the carefully controlled persona Caerus built for her. When the Gauntlet takes an unexpected turn, she and Inesa find themselves on the run together, and their dynamic is absolute perfection. 🤌

This book is dark, fast-paced, and packed with tension. The world feels terrifyingly real, the social commentary hits hard, and the romance is full of tension and intrigue. It takes a little time to get going, but once it does, it delivers. Loved this one so much!

Rating: 3/5

I appreciated a lot of what this book was trying to do. I thought the world was interesting and had some unique elements. I enjoyed the commentary on climate change and I really resonated with a lot of the discussions around survival and trying to survive in a broken world. I also appreciated the nods to the Hunger Games and the sapphic elements. But, I did not find myself emotionally invested in these characters' story at all. I wish that this story would have focused more on the sibling dynamics rather than switching to focusing so heavily on a romance that I did not feel anything for. I think the romance may have been unnecessary and so much about the ending felt rushed and unsatisfying. Overall, this book had a lot of elements that I enjoyed but was mostly just fine.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for gifting me with an advanced copy of this book!

Took me right back to my YA dystopian era. I just know 14 year old me would’ve eaten this up.

I’d say a strong 3.75 overall. The ideas were intensely compelling. This story wears its influences on its sleeve and doesn’t shy away from some dark themes. But I wanted it to just do a bit more.

4.5 - This was such a fun YA dystopian book and what I think will be my new favorite Ava Reid book!! This was such a perfect throwback to the YA dystopian of our youth, mainly Hunger Games. I loved the new and fresh twists that Ava put on the classic dystopian stories we all know and I honestly could not put this book down!!

Fable FOr the End of the World follows Inesa and Mel who come from two different worlds. They live in a society that is run by Cearus, a corporation run by greed, that works to force people into debts and carry out violence to pay their debts off. The Gauntlet is Cearus' way of allowing people to pay their debts off, by forcing people to sacrifice one of their loved ones to fight a trained assassin for entertainment. Mel is one of the most famous trained assassins and she is ordered to hunt down and kill Inesa. When the Gauntlet goes very differently than anyone expected, Inesa and Mel are left alone together, forced to work together to survive, and develop a connection.

This book had a lot of great themes, namely the effects of climate change in a not so distant future, corporate greed, the consequences of capitalism, and trauma porn and how capitalism often capitalizes on trauma for profit and gain. There was great sapphic representation with the relationship that developed between Inesa and Mel. Overall, I had a really fun time reading this one and definitely felt like it was a great throwback to the YA dystopian novels of our youth.

Thanks to Harper Teen for the free book!!

Beautiful cover, a Hunger Games-like story with lesbians, one who is some kind of robot, and a road kill decorator, with the ending disappointing. I don't think the story lived up to the cover.

I'll admit: I was very skeptical going into this one, even as the professional journals were giving it glowing reviews. It just seemed like The Hunger Games in a different font—and while Suzanne Collins's influence is definitely present (Reid herself, in an author's note, credits Hunger Games fandom and fanfiction she consumed as a teen for partially inspiring the story), I'm pleased to report that this book neither reads like fanfic with the serial numbers filed off (all too common in the publishing world today) nor a blatant rip-off of a more successful author. Rather, Reid plunges us into a terrifying world that is already sinking into ecological disaster, ruled by a corporatocracy that's hard not to read as a stand-in for a certain river in South America, where every single part of your life—including your death—is commodified for others. As with Reid's previous YA novel, A Study in Drowning, I did feel at times like she was trying to cram TOO much social commentary into a book that was already a very solid social commentary, but it didn't take away from my overall enjoyment. I liked how rich, fraught, and terrifying the world she crafted is, with suggestions of massive nuclear fallout in the past reshaping the whole United States and a monstrous, goliath city simply known as "The City" (presumably New York) hoards wealth and safety while the poor have to live more provincially in a flooded world. I liked the relationship between the two main characters and thought Reid wrote their journey from predator and prey to friends to more with a deft hand; that kind of storyline is typically a hard sell for me, and this worked. The only two things I didn't like were the term used to describe the feral humans in this world who have resorted to cannibalistic tendencies (which comes from a creature from certain Native American traditions and, I was under the impression, was not appropriate to be attached to spooky dystopian monsters) and the ending. I cannot remember the last time a book, particularly a YA book, had an ending as unsatisfying as this one. Everything that led up to it was great, though, so a very minor quibble, but one that's still bothering me a week after the fact!

Ava Reid has made a love letter to dystopian media with Fable for the End of the World. This world has been altered by climate change and oppressed by you named it greedy corporations. We have Inesa who barely makes ends meet when her uncaring mother throws her into the Gauntlet to pay off her debts and then there is Melinoe, a Caerus assassin who will be the one to kill her on live tv.

This book is dark especially from Melinoe's POV. She is an assassin who has been altered to be the perfect weapon. Melinoe has her memories wiped regularly so she doesn't even know who she is any more. Her entire life is run and owned by Caerus. It is so heartbreaking reading her side of the story. Not to say that Inesa's life is any better. She lives day to day not knowing if she is going to be able to afford food all while trying to make her narcissistic mother happy. She is then thrown into the Gauntlet with no hope of survival against Melinoe.

It took me a while to get into the book. The first half was an introduction to the world and some of it was hard to follow in what was going on. The second half was when our characters met and began to really grow. This is not like Reid's other works which are more folklore and horror. This story is about the dangers of climate change, corporate greed and inequality which reflect in our current reality. I do feel like this does not have Reid's usual stunning prose that I have come used to with her other works.

I do think if you enjoy dystopian media you will enjoy Fable for the End of the World. It is not what I am used to from the author but still a good read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an review.

DNF @ 39%

I was enjoying this book, maybe not as much as some of Reid's other works, but then the inhuman, cannibalistic creatures called "W*nds" showed up and...hoo boy, cool, a non-Native author appropriating *that* entity with no respect for the actual beliefs and practices around it. Yeah, no, hard pass.

For the first time, a book that claimed to be similar to The Hunger Games actually delivered. The action, tension, and world-building made me feel as if I were watching the story unfold on camera. The pacing kept me engaged, and the stakes felt real. My only critique is the sped-up timeline of emotions, but that’s something I’ve come to expect in most books. Overall, I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to publication day. Solid 4 out of 5 stars!

I loved this novel!

As a fan of the hunger games and all those dystopian novels of the 2000's this was amazing! I thoroughly enjoyed this story and characters!

I think Ava did an amazing job creating two strong female characters that you root for as a reader even when they are on opposite sides of the story. I fell in love with both female leads and loved to watch their relationship blossom.

The world that was created in this story was believable and heart wrenching! The story was fast paced and exciting without leaving out any details that gave me the full picture of what was happening.

My only critique is that I am devastated with the ending!! Will there be another book?

I loved this story and would love to read more of her books!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Children’s for a digital review copy of Ava Reid’s new book in exchange for an honest review.

Fable for the End of the World is the first of Ava Reid’s books that I have ever read and honestly just made me want to look into more of her work. It is a YA Dystopian that, rather than showing society under the rule of one person or one governmental entity, is controlled by a corporation.

We see that Caerus is king and those that bow to their will and are of more affluent means are well taken care of. The Gauntlet is their means of entertainment as well as their tool to cull those they deem undesirable.

While this is a work of fiction a lot of the absolute craziness that the main characters, Melinoe and Inesa, go through is ringing true in real life today. The us v them mentality between not only people of different financial classes but of different races. The treatment of women as property. Even more recent the ‘bailout’ of government by corporate figureheads and businessmen.

I did get introduced to the genre name Cli-fi, short for Climate Fiction and thought that was apt as the climate and environment is just as much of a character as our main duo. While it isn’t the environments fault, it shows that those that don’t kneel to the ruling body will either mutate or deteriorate. Conservation is an idea for those that believe in unity. Destroying the land and climate is just an easy cash grab for corporations who could then sell the cure to the masses for profit.

There were times in this book that absolutely shocked me which is something I love. Rating this story a 5 star read is a no brainer for me.

Ava Reid is definitely known for some bittersweet romances, but Fable for the End of the World takes the cake. Described by Ava as “a love letter to the dystopian YA fiction I grew up with,” particularly referencing the importance of The Hunger Games, Fable takes the do or die love of dystopian romances and reimagines it in the most brutal way. After finishing this book, I had to sit with my feelings for days, digesting everything this book stands for.

My absolute favorite part of this book was the setting. It takes place in the Esopus Watershed of New Amsterdam, i.e. the Esopus Watershed of upstate New York—where I live! New York state is often overlooked for the glitz and glam of New York City, but my state is vast and full of so many varying environs. Seeing the climate ravaged future, that is barely fictional and so scarily likely, of my home was heartbreaking.

Of course, my second favorite part of this book was the star-crossed romance of Melinoë and Inesa. Think Coriolanus Snow and Lucy Gray, but with less ambiguity and a more classist, corporate, patriarchal system of oppression. The sweet, practically domestic moments the two women have are contrasted by their dangerous environment and brutal circumstances.

In the end, this book may have broken my heart, but I have to give it five stars.

I started this review at 3 ⭐️ but moved it up to a 4⭐️ because clearly if I can write this long of a review I did feel a strong way about this book lol

TLTR: very immersive world, I felt the eeriness of the woods/forest as I was reading. It had a slow start but I enjoyed the book when I was reading. However, I didn’t feel the urge to pick it back up again after I’d put it down.

(Maybe that was also my mind protecting me from the ending because I didn’t see how they could live HEA.)

Quick intro: We meet Inesa in a sinking town living in a world ruled by a powered-up version of Amazon (Caerus) and a culture of people accumulating debt in order to just survive. Melinoë is a human, but has been under so many surgeries and had her mind Wiped so many times that it’s hard for her to feel human. Caerus, runs The Gauntlet that allows people to voluntarily to be hunted (and killed) by an Angel, like Mel, in order to earn 500,000 credits for their family. That’s how Inesa becomes the sacrificial lamb when her abuses mother volunteers her for the Gauntlet.

Characters: this is good coming of age story. Both Mel and Inesa are taking the steps to explore who they are apart of the system and people who have raised them. You see how they process their worlds and reflect themselves as individuals in that.

Note on world building: Ava Reid has a way of writing that really crates an atmosphere and felt the fear and eeriness of the woods beyond the civilization. However, we didn’t get a big chunk of the political history until 85% through the book. I really like the angle she took with it but why did I have to wait so long for it? For instance, it wasn’t until 85% through that it explained further that so many people went into debt was because Caerus allows everyone a line of 500,000 credit to be used for anything. **

For all the times Ava writes about strength in softness, I was annoyed they didn’t write about strength of showing her emotions (at least I didn’t see the big shift). Despite how many times Inesa commented on how crying madd her seem weak.**

** if I missed something while reading let a girl know please ✌🏻

Ava Reid is of course the queen of one liners so here were some I liked:
- It’s a shame we’ve started believing that credits are worth more than a life.
- “I’m sick of just surviving,” I whisper. “I want . . . more.”
- Nothing dooms you quicker than desire.

Final note: JACOB SUCKS

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is published Hunger Games fan fiction. Is that a bad thing? No, but it does mean the book is rather boring.

Reading this book I kept feeling like I've read this book before and the world building was much better the first time around. I'm not saying that the corporate controlled future dystopian setting was bad, if anything I found it realistic. However, I found it annoying how often the author would point out that people's debt was driven by their poor spending habits on things like action figures and greasy take out. It was a very avocado toast perspective and ignores that the majority of personal debt in our world are things like mortgages, medical debt, and student loans not consumer debt.

The premise of what if a career tribute fell in love with another tribute? is an interesting one but it's not well explored in this story and the ending was frankly lackluster.

Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC of this title.

Thank You to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the ARC.

I love gay dystopia and this book DELIVERS. I struggled with the pacing in some parts, but I really liked this book. The romance was a beautiful contrast to the violent setting.

Thank You to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the ARC
I was pleasantly surprised by Fable for the End of the World; normally I shy away from dystopia, but I am so glad that I gave this one a chance. Mel and Inesa's slow burn romance was a lovely contrast to the violence. Ava Reid makes clear that she has found her voice in science fiction and crafting a world explores the horrors of environmental disaster and how people crave escape from the world around them.

An achingly romantic and hopeful story that takes place in a bleak, unsettlingly familiar dystopian world, Fable for the End of the World is the kind of story we all need right now that clearly draws inspiration from many familiar stories while forging its own path. This book reminds you that kindness, softness, love, and compassion are the things that keep you human as the world falls apart.